COIMBATORE: Following the success of AI-based cameras in preventing elephant deaths on railway tracks over the past two years, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, with support from the Tamil Nadu Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Corporation (TNUAVC), has now deployed tethered drones that will function round-the-clock to prevent elephants from approaching the railway tracks in Madukkarai Forest Range.
TNUAVC has installed three tethered drones, two atop the forest department's watchtower and one on the ACC building, with a dedicated power connection. Of these, two drones monitor railway line B and one covers railway line A passing through the forest stretch.
The drones will operate 24 hours a day, with each drone given a half-hour break once every four hours. During the rest period of one drone, the other two will continue surveillance.
The drones also have battery backup and are also connected to generators, enabling them to function for up to six hours without interruption in case of power failures.
Each tethered drone is equipped with a thermal camera capable of 360-degree rotation and can detect elephant movement up to two kilometres away. The monitored area has been categorised into red, orange and green zones based on elephant proximity to the tracks.
Upon detecting elephants near the railway line, the tethered drone sends alerts to a surveillance drone operated by a trained pilot. The pilot then deploys the drone, which is fitted with a 30x zoom camera, speaker and flashlights, to safely drive the elephants back into the forest.
"Our pilot will safely guide the wild elephants into the forest using sounds such as honeybee buzzing, lion roars or cracker bursts and facilitate their movement towards the railway underpass," said V Vignesh Kumar, Senior Business Development Manager of TNUAVC.
Officials said the entire operation — including tethered drone surveillance and pilot-operated diversion — is monitored real time at a dedicated control room near the forest check post at Pudupathi village, near the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border.
"After detecting elephant movement, the control room receives an alarm, and a GPS-enabled message with the location of the elephants is sent to the concerned forest guards and watchers," Vignesh Kumar added.
Along with 18 staffs from TNUAVC, 25 elephant trackers from the forest department are engaged on the field.
The department has signed a three-year agreement with TNUAVC for the operation and maintenance of the drones, at a total cost of Rs 8.5 crore.